The Film (5/5)

    Elio Petri’s Property is No Longer a Theft tells the tale of Total (Flavio Bucci, Suspiria), a germophobic and poor accountant at a bank. One day he watches as a rich butcher, who happens to be a treasured client at a bank beats up on would be thief, and soon after has enough of the down trodden life he is leading. He first attempts to get a loan from the bank, but as he has no property to call his own as collateral he is refused. He then takes to a life of crime, that starts petty and then gets more daring. In between these crimes, he also torments the butcher, who he begins to take everything from including the butchers mistress Anita (Daria Nicolodi, Deep Red).

   Property is No Longer a Theft is the third part of Elio Petri’s neurosis trilogy following on from his earlier Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and The Working Class Goes to Heaven.  The film is a metaphor for the working class standing up for themselves against the oppression brought upon them by the bourgeoisie. Total, acts as a representative of the working class through his crime spree is acting as a cipher for a revolution against the upper class.

    Director Elio Petri is not exactly subtle, and his subtext is pretty blatant to anyone paying attention. Almost from the moment when Total burns a dollar bill as the higher ranking banking officials watch on in horror we understand Petri's claim that they are corrupted by the money that they worship. Of course, in an age where corporate interest have essentially hijacked the highest positions of powers in the U.S., the themes presents in Property is No Longer a Theft and in turn many of Petri's films are still shockingly relevant.

    The performances in the film are fantastic. Bucci is great here as Total, from his neurotic opening moments, to his revolutionary thief later in the film, he is strong throughout.  Nicolodi is excellent as always, and offers a nice counterpoint to Bucci. Ugo Tognazzi does excellent work as the film's villainous butcher. Petri's visual style is totally on point here, and everything looks brilliant, one could just watch this film and absorb a lot of the scenery. The Morricone score is, predictably, amazing, and helps to set the tone for the film.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    Arrow Academy presents Property is No Longer a Theft in a splendid 1:85:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer preserving the OAR of the film. The Blu-ray looks and sound magnificent, detail is excellent, color is stable, grain is natural, and blacks are inky and deep.

    Audio is presented with an LPCM mono track in English. Dialogue and Morricone score come through well, and I had no complaints.

Extras (2.5/5)

    Arrow put together a solid extras package for Property is No Longer a Theft. The Blu-ray includes an interview with Flavio Bucci, The film's producer Claudio Mancini, and the make-up artist, Pierantonio Mecacci.  There is also a booklet of liner notes.

Overall

    Another excellent addition to the Arrow Academy line, Elio Petri's Property is No Longer a Theft is a wonderful film that blends crime and comedy in equal measure. The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing, and comes with solid extra features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.